Assassination of Opponent of Nicaraguan President Ortega Occurs in Exile, Costa Rica
Fresh Take:
Retired Major Roberto Samcam, 66, met an unfortunate end on a fateful day in San Jose, reportedly gunned down in cold blood by individuals posing as package deliverers. His adoptive daughter, Samantha Jiron, shared her shock and disbelief with AFP from her Madrid residence.
"We didn't expect this, we never could have imagined it," Jiron said.
Rights groups and exiled dissidents quickly pointed fingers at the Ortega and Murillo administration, with Samcam's wife, Claudia Vargas, asserting that he was a "powerful voice" who didn't shy away from denouncing the oppressive regime.
Samcam, who had relocated to Costa Rica in 2018, was known for shedding light on human rights violations in his home country. His demise, according to Vargas, was part of his noble endeavor to expose the injustices perpetrated by the Ortega regime.
Costa Rica's lead judicial officer, Randall Zuniga, reported that the killers exploited the lack of security at Samcam's apartment building in the mornings. The gunman apparently lured Samcam out and opened fire, striking him eight times. The Nicaraguan news outlet, Confidencial, reported that the assassins had fled the scene on motorbikes.
The US State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs expressed shock over Samcam's murder and vowed to assist Costa Rica in bringing the culprits and those behind them to justice. Arturo McFields, Nicaragua's former ambassador to the Organization of American States living in exile in the United States, labelled the killing an "act of cowardice and criminal political revenge by the Nicaraguan dictatorship."
Famed Nicaraguan writer Gioconda Belli, in exile in Spain, termed the crime "very serious" and suggested political motives. Neither Ortega nor the government offered any comment on the tragic event.
Samcam's outspoken defiance against the government in Managua earned him neither favor nor protection, leading to his decision to seek refuge in Costa Rica. In 2018, protests against the Ortega government were met with brutal suppression resulting in over 300 deaths, as per the UN.
Another Nicaraguan opposition activist, Joao Maldonado, also fell victim to violence while living in exile in Costa Rica. The motives for that attack remain unclear, but Samcam's killing has stirred suspicion among Nicaraguans that Maldonado's case too might have been linked to his political activities.
Former Costa Rican president Luis Guillermo Solis described the murder as an "outrageous and extremely serious act" and likened the current regime to the notorious "Night of the Long Knives," a bloody purge ordered by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in 1934. Sociopolitical commentator Dora Maria Tellez, a contemporary of Ortega who turned critic, echoed Solis' sentiments and warned of a "weakening" regime resorting to brutal methods to silence dissenters, including the execution of perceived adversaries like Samcam.
In recent years, Ortega's government has imprisoned hundreds of opponents, shut down over 5,000 non-governmental organizations, and faced US and EU sanctions, pushing thousands of dissidents into exile. Pro-government media failed to report on Samcam's death.
[1] A retired ex-military officer was assassinated in Costa Rica on June 19, 2025. The murder is widely perceived as a politically motivated killing orchestrated or linked to the Ortega-Murillo government.
[2] Major Roberto Samcam, a vocal critic of the Ortega-Murillo regime, was targeted for assassination in exile in San José, Costa Rica. In response, calls for justice and international protection for political exiles have gained momentum.
[3] Samcam's killing has stirred concerns about the infiltration of Nicaraguan military intelligence into Costa Rica and a broader pattern of harassment, persecution, and violence against opposition members beyond Nicaragua’s borders.
[4] The violence committed against Nicaraguan dissident Major Roberto Samcam on June 19, 2025, is an egregious example of "transnational repression," reflecting the Ortega-Murillo government's ongoing brutal suppression of dissent through extraterritorial means.
- Human rights activists and political commentators have raised concerns about the assassination of Major Roberto Samcam, a vocal critic of the Ortega-Murillo regime, which took place in San José, Costa Rica, allegedly due to politically motivated reasons.
- The incident involving Major Roberto Samcam, a retired ex-military officer, highlights the escalating issue of crime-and-justice crimes in the region, as his alleged assassination is perceived as a transgression of general-news norms and a violation of human rights.
